 Cliff Schlothauer
is new to IGW as a
contributing reviewer. In this issue he reviews Kim Wallace's Erik & Isabelle: Freshman Year at Foresthill High Cliff is a long-time
resident of Las Cruces, New Mexico, where his family has been ranchers
and business owners. Cliff also has a life-long interest in historic
buildings, antiques, and Spanish Colonial Art. He is active in the
historic preservation movement, both locally and nationally.
Cliff is a fan of blue-note jazz, mid- to late-sixties movies, and the early New Mexico artists of Taos and Santa Fe. |
 About the author, Kim Wallace and her writing:Erik & Isabelle Freshman Year at Foresthill High, the first book in a new four-book series for GLBT teens. http://www.foglightpress.com/ The website has many great features such as: Interactive forum page with topics to post messages on. Go ahead and put your two cents in under one of the four topic pages (teen discussion, gay & lesbian discussion, educator discussion, or ask the author). You can order copies of Erik and Isabelle here, as well. Kim Wallace began writing the Erik & Isabelle four-book series after ten years of working as a high school English teacher. After witnessing the disenfranchisement of gay and lesbian teenagers, Kim was inspired to write a four-book high school series that would embrace the lives of a typically invisible, and often misunderstood, population. Erik & Isabelle bloomed out of a desire to reach a group of young people in critical need of connection, love, and understanding. Kim earned her Bachelor of Arts in History at UC Santa Barbara, Master's Degree in Education at UCLA, and Educational Administration credential at Sacramento State University. Kim continues to work in the public schools. |
 Erik & Isabelle: Freshman Year at Foresthill High by Kim Wallace Foglight Press Paper $11.95, 235 pages ISBN: 0-9755848-0-4 A review by Cliff Schlothauer Erik and Isabelle is the first book in a four-book series "designed to reach high school students in need of connection. love, and understanding." The book is set in small-town America and all that such a place represents. It touches all of us in some way no matter our age. Kim Wallace has an easy style suited for young teenagers. She does communicate with and reach that audience well. It is also suited for adults who would like "A walk down memory lane," reminding us that we too went through peer pressure, bullies, first kisses, and of course, first loves. And the "greatly anticipated" passion of a first touch, also the terrible heart-wrenching break up of our first love. But most of all we are reminded of our recovery. Such experiences are the first steps into adulthood—no one escapes. What makes Erik and Isabelle interesting and unlike other teens is that they are gay in this very traditional high school setting. Erik is deeply in the closet with a retired military father and spineless mother, and he is suffering greatly from not being "out." Isabelle is the only "out" gay person in the whole school. Although her parents are liberal hippies, completely loving and supportive of her, she too is suffering because she is out and gay. Their story unfolds from past mid-year to the end of the school year. Ms. Wallace has a great knack for giving us a picture of high school life, every thing from art students, favorite teachers, cheerleaders, and sports. Also the feelings of all characters and their behavior are well done. Included in the plot are many life-lessons we all have to learn to help prepare us for maturity. This is a good book for gay youth or straight, any high school aged person. Also it would be helpful for all parents, both gay and straight, to read. The poetry of Andrienne Rich from The Dream of a Common Language is a key element in revealing the lessons and the growth of the characters. "No one lives in this room without living through some kind of crises," exactly portrays the crises of youth where "this room" is their life. Last, I wish more gay youth stories ended happily and balanced as they do in this book. |